Belt-clamp.



J. W. WHI'I'GHBR.

BELTCLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED Alma, 1911.

1,1 15,993. Patented Nov. 3; 1914.

WITNESSES m 4! m dLQJQ/p i mvrrnn srzrrns PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN W. WHITCHER, OF CBOSTON,MASSAGHUSETTS.

BELT-CLAMP.

.a-citizen of the United States, residing at;

Boston, in the=county of Suffolk and State;

of Massachusetts, have invented certain new; and useful Improvements inBelt-Glamps,f

of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to belt clamps. The object of-the inventionis toimprovefi generally the construction of belt clamps so;

that the clamps may easily be applied to; belts to tighten the same andso that the: clamps may be easily and quickly removed; from the beltswithout'detaching the nuts from the various bolts andscrew-rods, and;withoutthe necessity of employingithe services of moretthan one-man inthe application of the clamps or the removal thereof? from the belt. gWith the above and other objects in View? the present invention consistsin the combi-f nation and arrangement of parts hereinaf-i ter more fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it being;

understood that changesmay be made in the form, proport1on,s1ze andminor detalls without departing from the spirit or sacri- ,ficmg any ofthe advantages of the invention. p v

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a top plani view illustrating theapplication of my in-; vention. Fig. 1 is a detail plan .view of aportion of theclampshown in Fig. 1. Fig

2 is a side view of one of theclamps with the belt removed therefrom.Fig. 3 is a side view of one of the clamps partly in. sectionillustrating the position of the? clamping members in dotted lines whenit is; desired to apply the clamp tothe belt or tof remove it therefrom;"Fig. 4 is aview of al modified form of clamp partly in side view:andpartly in section. 1 I

Referring now more'particularly to the accompanying drawings thereference character 1 indicates a belt whose ends are con-: nectedtogether by lacing orotherwise as indicated at 2, the belt being heldbetween clamps A and B, each clamp A and B, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3,inclusive, being the same in construction, thereby necessitatingSpecification of Letters Patent.

7 v 1 jPate'nted Nov. 3,1914. ApplicationfiledAug ust 8,1911, SerialNo.'643,022. v if r a description of but one clamp which will I .IlOWbe described.

The characters 3 and 4 indicate upper and lower clamping members,respectively, each having its inner face notched to 'provlde end slots aand b for a purpose presently the clamping members 3 and 4.

The character 5, indicates a pin passed transversely through one end iof, the lower clamping member land throughthe slot 0 and on which'pin 5the eye-bolt 6 is secured explainedthese slots (1. and Z2 being arrangedhorizontally. with referencejto the clamp, I the slot a .intersecting avertical slot, 0 formed by bifurcating oneend of each of,

and whereby the eye-boltmay be swung into and out ofrthe vertical slot0, there being a'nu-t and washer 7 and 8, respectively, secured on theouter end of the eve-bolt 6 for the purposeof holding the ey'e bolt insuch posltion. with reference to the clamping members 3and t as toprovide for an efiicient clamping :ofthe belt .1 between theclampingmembersq r Secured to the under face of the lowerclamping'member & is a metallic or other plate .9 provided with arectangular opening adapted toaline with the openings 10 :and 11 oftheclamping members 3 and 4 and through which openings" is passed thebolt 12 whose shank adjacent its head 13 is squared as indicated at 14to fit in the square opening of the plate 9 to prevent turning ofthe-bolt 12, there being a nut and washer 15 and l6, respectively,secured to the bolt 12 to insure clamping ofthis particular end of theclamp on the belt.

Secured to the outer sidefaces'of the clamping members 3Ian d 1 at eachend thereof-is a plate 17 provided with'ja lug 18, there thus beingapair of plates 17 carried by each clamping member and 'it will be seenthat the lugs 18 of opposing plates of cooperating clamping members arear-,

ranged preferably in alinement for the pur pose of preventing turning ofthenuts 19 carriedby the screw rods 20 and 21 which latter are fitted inthe aforesaid horizontal slots a and I), respectively. Thescrewi'ods 20and 21 are preferably made in 'one'piece, provided with right and leftscrew-threads and nuts upon opposite ends and an enlarged portion (Z,intermediate the ends to provide means to turn said rods. It is obviousthat each of said rods might be made in two parts with their threadedends connected witha turn-buckle in the center in the usual manner, ifso desired. By virtue of the nuts 19 at the ends of these screw rods 20and 21 engaging the lugs 18 of the plates 17 the nuts cannot turn andtherefore it is unnecessary to have two ,men ma nipulate the clamp whentightening the belt, that is, one man for operating the screwrods by theenlarged portion d and another man or men to prevent turning of the nuts19.

When it is desired to remove the clamps from the belt it is simplynecessary to slightly slacken the nut 7 on the bolt 6, when the clampswill loosen on the-belt and the screw-rods 20 and 21 are thereby freedfrom any strain and may be readily removed intact. It is .thenonlynecessary to a little farther unscrew the nut 7 on the bolt 6 when thelatter may be thrown out to the dotted line position indicated in Fig. 3and the upper clamp 3 elevated as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 whenthe clamp may be moved laterally away from the belt, thereby obviatingthe necessity of com pletely swinging the clamping member 3 around fromover the clampingmember 4: on the bolt 12. It will be seen that theopenings 10 and 11 of the clamping mem-- here are elongated with theirgreater diameters extending longitudinally of the clamping members, saidelongated openings having their greater diameters increasing in lengththroughout the thickness of the clamping members. This is done to givethe bolt 12 considerable play to allow the two parts of the clamp to beopenedas indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3 so as to readily apply theclamp to the belt or permit removal of the clamp from the belt, theclamping members 3 and 1, in other words, having not only movement awayfrom each other at one end but also, by virtue of the elongated openings10 and 11, having slight longitudinal movement upon each other so as toinsure ready application of the belt by the clamping members or removalof the clamping members from the belt.

In Fig. a there is shown a little different type of clamping memberwherein the clamping members 3' and 4: are each notched at each end toprovide the horizontal slots a and Z) corresponding'to the slots a and7) of the preferred form of the invention. The clamping members 3' and4c are also provided with openings 10 and 11, respectively. The openings10 and 11 are elongated similar to the openings 10 and 11 of Figs. 1, 2and 3, but the opening 11 has its smallest diameter equal to the largestdiameter of the opening 10 so that when the clamping members 3 and 1 aresuperimposed the openings 10 and 11 aline so that an opening is formedwhich increases in size from the top of member 3 down through the bottomof member 1, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. Through the openings 11 of thelower clamping member 1" is passed a pin 5 on which the hook bolts 22are secured, there being nuts 23 and washers 24 disposed on the hookbolts 22 to insure a binding engagement of the clamping members 3 and 1-on the belt.

While the last form described is not the preferred one, it is one thatis very convenient and easily operated.

hat is claimed is 1. A belt clamp comprising clamping members eachprovided with vertical openings, said openings being elongated withtheir greater diameters extending longitudinally of the clamping membersand said openings having their greater diameters increasing in lengththroughout the thickness of the clamping members, said openings havingone end of each in mutual alinement.

2. A belt clamp comprising clamping members each providedwith verticalopenings, extending through the clamping members, said openings beingelongated and increasing in size from one surface of the clamping membertoward the opposite surface, with the greater diameters disposedlongitudinally of the clamping members, said openings having one end ofeach in mutual alinement.

3. A belt clamp comprising two superimposed clamping members providedwith vertical openings disposed near one end of each member but spacedtherefrom, said openings being elongated and increasing in size from onesurface of the clamping members toward the opposite surface with thegreater diameters disposed longitudinally of the clamping members, boltsslidably mounted within the openings of the clamping members, the innerwall of each of said openings being straight and substantiallyperpendicular to the body of the clamping members with the opposite wallinclining downwardly and outwardly to permit movement of the free end ofthe clamping mem bers relative to the other when the bolts are loosened.

1. A belt clamp comprising two superimposed clamping members detachablysecured together at one end each having a vertical opening at its otherend, a bolt passing through the openings in the clamping members, andmeans to secure the bolt insaid openings, said openings being spacedfrom the ends of the clamping members and having their inner wallsstraight and in vertical alinelnent with each other, with rated withoutwithdrawing the bolt at its their outer walls inclining downwardly andother; end. 10

outwardly from the upper surface of each In testimony whereof I afiix mysignature clamping member toward the lower surface in presence of twowitnesses. to provide an elongated opening increasing JOHN WV. WHITCHER.in length throughout the thickness of the WVitnesses: clamping memberswhereby the free end of E. A. CLEARWATER, the upper clamping member maybe ele- V. M. RICHARDS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). c." I I

